Pranav Anand triumphs at Groningen Chess Festival 2022 Open A
The reigning World Youth Under-16 Open champion, GM Pranav Anand won the Groningen Chess Festival 2022 Open A with an unbeaten 7.5/9. He finished a half point ahead of the competition and drew with the remaining podium finishers. GM Hagen Poetsch (GER) scored sole 7/9 to finish second. He also remained undefeated. Four players scored 6/9. IM Nico Zwirs (NED) secured third position according to tie-breaks. The total prize fund in Open A category was €7000. The first prize was The silver Zwanepol trophy and €2000. The last time an Indian won at Groningen Chess Festival was 25 years ago, when Vishy Anand won the Candidates Knockout Tournament in 1997. Photo: Bart Beijer
Top three finishes in the same order
India's 76th GM Pranav Anand has won his third tournament of the year 2022. The first event he won was Vezerkepzo GM March 2022, a round-robin tournament in Hungary. Then he won the World Youth Under-16 Open, a day after becoming India's 76th Grandmaster. Pranav finished the year 2022 on a high note by winning the prestigious Groningen Chess Festival 2022 Open A on 30th December 2022.
Pranav - Poetsch, Round 3
It is winning for White. However, White has to be careful about Black's plans to hold a draw by going for the b3 and a4-pawns after e3, the knight can take care of the g4-pawn if White does not find a way to prevent it in time. Find out the winning continuation for White in the above position.
Heading into the final round, both GM Pranav Anand and GM Hagen Poetsch (GER) had the same score 6.5/8. Pranav defeated IM Valentin Buckels (GER, 2455), while Poetsch drew with Rick Lahaye (NED, 2435). Thus, Pranav became a clear champion.
A total of 42 players participated including 3 GMs, 5 IMs and a WIM took part from 12 countries all over the world including Netherlands in the Group A (>2000) of Groningen Chess Festival 2022 at Energy Academy Europe and Sportcentrum RUG & Hanze, Groningen, Netherlands from 21st to 30th December 2022. Rest day was on 25th December. The tournament was organized by Jan van Os. The time control for all groups was 90 minutes for the first 40 moves; followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game; with an increment of 30 seconds per move from the start.
Replay all available games
Final standings
| Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | TB5 | w-we | K | rtg+/- | |
| 1 | 1 | GM | Pranav Anand | IND | 2512 | 7,5 | 0 | 48,5 | 39,25 | 38 | 6 | 1,29 | 10 | 12,9 |
| 2 | 2 | GM | Poetsch Hagen | GER | 2478 | 7 | 0 | 49 | 37,00 | 38 | 5 | 1,23 | 10 | 12,3 |
| 3 | 3 | IM | Zwirs Nico | NED | 2474 | 6 | 0 | 46,5 | 27,75 | 32 | 4 | -0,47 | 10 | -4,7 |
| 4 | 7 | FM | De Winter Arthur | NED | 2368 | 6 | 0 | 44 | 28,25 | 28 | 4 | 0,44 | 10 | 4,4 |
| 5 | 15 | FM | Van Meegen Ruud | NED | 2287 | 6 | 0 | 43,5 | 26,75 | 28,5 | 4 | 1,16 | 20 | 23,2 |
| 6 | 6 | Lahaye Rick | NED | 2435 | 6 | 0 | 40 | 26,75 | 27 | 5 | -0,76 | 10 | -7,6 | |
| 7 | 5 | GM | Kovchan Alexander | UKR | 2450 | 5,5 | 0 | 47 | 25,75 | 31 | 4 | -0,59 | 10 | -5,9 |
| 8 | 4 | IM | Buckels Valentin | GER | 2455 | 5,5 | 0 | 45,5 | 24,75 | 28 | 4 | -1,12 | 10 | -11,2 |
| 9 | 16 | CM | Nemec Vjekoslav | CRO | 2220 | 5,5 | 0 | 43,5 | 24,50 | 26,5 | 4 | 0,83 | 20 | 16,6 |
| 10 | 11 | FM | Pham Khoi | NED | 2344 | 5,5 | 0 | 38 | 21,25 | 24,5 | 4 | -0,30 | 20 | -6 |